Tuesday, September 08, 2015

Summer Camp 1968

Hosaka 5th Dan 1968

My
Father organised all the St Mary' s Bay Camps The first few years it was
predominantly a BJC event as my Father was BJC General Secretary but after that
he was President of IBF President. The first camp was in 1967 as the year
before it was in Grange Farm Chigwell and I can remember going there on my
MotorBike and Side car so I would have been 16. When that finished my father
arranged the Course at the St Mary's Bay Schools Journey Centre. In the early
1970's the Journeys Centre was demolished and Nobby moved further down the Road
to the ACF Camp he continued organising what was the most successful and famous
Martial arts Course in Europe until 1988 when he had a stroke he died in 1990.
I carried on the tradition eventually the ACF camp was demolished and we moved
to ACF Dibgate Folkestone a new facility sadly the Army decided not to let to
non Army Personal so the Annual Camp has become a week Course at Sittingbourne
run by my son John a 3rd generation of Clarkes. Although I would have liked to
continue the Summer Camp at Dibgate it was apparent that people were no longer
interested in this activity and number had dropped. At it height the Summer
Camp was 4 weeks 2 weeks Junior, 2 weeks Senior with people coming from all
over the UK and the World. Any who experience Summer Camp will know what hard
work is and also know what camaraderie. I vaguely remember Mr Hosaka if my
memory serves me right he enjoyed a game of cards